Dr. Luke Drops Defamation Lawsuits Against Kesha’s Mother

Kesha’s mother is no longer part of the legal battle between the singer and Dr. Luke. The producer has dismissed his defamation claims against Pebe Sebert, according to Tennessee federal court documents viewed by Pitchfork. The move leaves a New York court as the sole remaining front in the conflict between Kesha, who has been trying to get out of her contract on claims the producer raped and abused her, and Dr. Luke, who has alleged that Kesha defamed him and broke her contract. A representative for the producer shared a joint statement by Dr. Luke and Pebe Sebert, which you can read below.

Dr. Luke vigorously disputes and denies that he ever raped Kesha
Sebert, and he is asserting claims of defamation in a New York court
against Kesha Sebert for making statements to the contrary, which
statements Dr. Luke adamantly maintains are false. Pebe admits she
has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the
night of the alleged rape. Pebe was not present that night. At that
time, Pebe was in Nashville, and Kesha was in Los Angeles. The dispute
between Kesha and Dr. Luke about the events of that night is the
subject of the New York case, and will be decided in that case.
Accordingly, all parties believe it is appropriate to dismiss this
Tennessee case and focus their attention on the New York case.

Pebe Sebert’s legal counsel also issued the following statement:

Kesha's mother, Pebe Sebert, is relieved that Dr. Luke has dismissed
the two lawsuits he filed against her. As she said last year, this
litigation has been a nightmare, and we are pleased it is now over.

Dr. Luke sued Kesha’s mother in October 2014, claiming she committed defamation by allegedly taking part in a smear campaign accusing him of drugging and sexually abusing Kesha. He filed the lawsuits both in New York and in Tennessee, where Pebe Sebert lives. Kesha’s mother countersued, claiming emotional distress. In February 2016, a judge dismissed Dr. Luke’s New York lawsuit against Sebert. In April 2016, she withdrew her counterclaims. Then, in September 2016, Dr. Luke filed a second defamation lawsuit against Sebert, citing more recent comments she’d made. All of these claims have now been dismissed.

Pitchfork has reached out to a lawyer representing the singer and her mother.

The New York case between Dr. Luke and Kesha, which also dates to October 2014, remains ongoing. A status conference is scheduled for July 31. In April, news surfaced that Dr. Luke no longer held an executive position at Sony Music. A month earlier to that, Kesha suffered a setback when a judge rejected the singer’s attempt to amend her claims against the producer. Last year, Kesha dropped a separate lawsuit she had filed against Dr. Luke in California, and overhauled her legal team shortly prior to that.